curd recipes

MOSARU AVALAKKI (Curd Poha)

| sarapaka
Wanna celebrate “No Rice Day”… think of Lord Krishna’s favourite…homely, humble Avalakki (Poha). Soak it in a bowl of curd. Garnish it, taste it….hmmm…find yourself soaking in bliss. Cool dish this….for there is nothing warm about it. Consumed best in a mildly chilled and slightly sweet state, “Mosaru Avalakki” is a fitting substitute for curd rice. Typically served at the fag end of a meal, it is known to soothe the stomach, acting as a coolant especially after eating hot n spicy stuff or rich fat food.

Dish Type:  South Indian Vegetarian Rice VarietyMosaru Avalakki Brass 2 copy

Preparation Time:  10 min

Cooking time:  2 min

Serves:  4 persons

Ingredients

For soaking:

Poha                            1 cup (paper thin variety)

Curd/Yogurt                ½ cup

Salt to taste                 ½ tsp approx.

For seasoning:

Oil                               ½ tsp

Mustard seeds            ½ tsp

Bengal gram dal         ½ tsp

Black gram dal            ½ tsp

Green chilli                 1 no. chopped to circular pieces

Red chilli                     2 nos.

Curry leaves                few

Cashew nuts                2 nos. (broken to smaller pieces)

Asafoetida                   A pinch

Optional Ingredients for garnish, nutrition and taste: (Add all, some or none of these. It’s your choice alone!)

Onion                          1 tbsp. fine chopped

Carrot                          1 tbsp. grated

Cucumber                   1 tbsp. fine chopped

Ginger                         ¼” pc grated

Coriander leaves         1 tbsp fresh and fine chopped

Raisins                         1 tsp

Pomegranate seeds    1 tbsp

Fresh green grapes     1 tbsp (big size grapes can be sliced to half)

Cumin powder              A pinch

Black salt powder         A pinch

Raw grated coconut    2 tbsps (fresh)

Directions:

Wash poha thoroughly in water – preferably twice. Drain out the water. Whisk curd well with salt. Add this to the washed poha. Mix them gently. Keep aside for just 5 min. Get ready to season it….

Heat oil in a small skillet. Add mustard seeds. When they crackle, add bengal gram dal and black gram dal. When they turn golden brown, add chopped green chillies, red chillies, curry leaves and cashew nuts. Switch off and add asafoetida. Let it cool.

Now add any or all of the ingredients listed above for garnish, to suit your taste and convenience. Finally add the seasoning that you just prepared. Mix them well and yes, gently.

Mosaru Avalakki is now ready. Serve it straight (with / without accompaniment) or chill n serve.

Chefs’Chat:

Thick variety of poha may also be used. It needs more soaking time and comparatively greater quantity of water. When kept soaked for a longer time, poha mix thickens. You may have to add more curd and also water if required. Also remember to check the taste for this revised quantity. A bit more of salt….sure you can add.

Adding veggies and fruits like onion, cucumber, grapes, pomegranate not only enhances nutrition n taste, but also prevents the mixture from becoming thick.

Store it in refrigerator if needed for later use. Add milk if curd turns sour.

If you wish to pack it for travel, mix all ingredients except curd. Store boiled and cooled milk separately with just a spoon of curd added to it. Mix it well with rest of the ingredients just before serving.

Same recipe holds good for Curd Rice too. Here, in place of poha, use cooked rice. Cook rice with rice: water ratio of 1:3. Let rice cool completely before adding curd, salt, seasoning and garnish.

 

DODDAPATRE THAMBULI (Spiced Yogurt with Coleus n Coconut)

| sarapaka
Cold, cough, sore throat, congestion, indigestion…oho!….then no more procrastination! Off to the garden, pluck them…those succulent, strong scented (has the aroma of oregano but a bit more pungent), thick, roundish, spongy, green foliage with toothed edges from an evergreen shrub that grows and spreads so easily even in gentle weather.

Pluck a leaf or two, boil them in hot water and sip the decoction (kashaya) when you feel sick especially with common cold or abdominal ailments. Wanna add a drop of honey and lime for that zing thing….yes please!

Thambuli, a simple yogurt and fresh coconut based preparation, cool dish ideal for hot summers, so healthy n tasty, so lovingly prepared and sweetly served by moms, yet so easily turned down by kids, only to realise later in life….”Well, it’s our turn now to be turned down by our kids”!!! Fortunately, I for one, at a very young age … by teenage, that’s right, had realized the importance of eating healthy, which made my Amma happy! How about you?

Dish Type:  South Indian Side Dish Doddapatre Tambuli edit copy

Preparation Time:  5 min

Cooking time:  10 min

Serves:  4 persons

Ingredients

For sautéing:

Ghee                            ½ tsp

Cumin seeds                ½ tsp

Pepper corns               ½ tsp (5 to 6 nos.)

Doddapatre leaves      12 nos.

Green chilli                 1 no.

For grinding:

All the above sautéed ingredients

Salt to taste                             ½ tsp

Fresh grated coconut              1 tbsp

Asafoetida                               A pinch

Jaggery                                    1 tsp (optional)

Curd                                        1 cup

For seasoning:

Ghee                            ½ tsp

Mustard seeds                        ½ tsp

Cumin seeds                ½ tsp

Curry leaves                4 to 6 nos.

Red chilli                     1 no. (split to half or a tad smaller)

Directions:

Wash doddapatre leaves thoroughly in salt water. Drain out the water and keep the leaves aside. Wash curry leaves also and keep aside.

Grate fresh coconut and keep aside.

Heat ghee in a skillet. Add cumin seeds and pepper corns. When jeera turns brown, add green chilli and washed doddapatre leaves. Sauté them on low flame for 3 to 4 min. till you see the leaves wilting, watering and changing colour. Switch off the flame and transfer the contents to a plate. Let it cool.

Now added grated fresh coconut, salt and asafoetida to this plate. Grind them in a mixie jar using minimum amount of water to a paste consistency. Transfer the contents to a bowl and now add fresh curd / buttermilk and blend them well with a spoon. It’s time to do seasoning….

Heat ghee in a small skillet. Add cumin seeds, red chilli and curry leaves (in that order). Fry for five seconds. Switch off the flame. Pour this seasoning on to the bowl.

Doddapatre Thambuli is now ready. Serve it cool with hot steaming rice, pickle and papad.

Also view “Methi Jeera Thambuli“ in this blog

Note:

Leaves can even be chopped to smaller size before sautéing.

You can use pepper corns / green chillies or a combination of both for the spicy taste.

Coleus Aromaticus, Plectranthus Amboinicus, Cuban Oregano, Country Borage, French Thyme, Spanish Thyme, Mexican Thyme, Mother of Herbs, Saviara Sambara, Sambrani soppu, Sambara balli, Karpooravalli are a few other terms used to describe Doddapatre leaves.